Needle clamp for sewing machines



J. BERGER.

NEEDLE CLAMP FOR SEWING MACHINES. APPLICATIONJILED 00111, 1920.

1 430,930, I Patented Oct. 3, 1922.

l ll iii Patented fil et. 3, i922.

JOSEPH BERGER, 0F UTICA, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO "UNION SPECIAL lfiACfEETLltJE COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

NEEDLE CLAMP FOR SEVIING MACHINES.

Application flied October 11, 1920. Serial No. it-16,152.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that T, Josnrrr Bnncnn, a citizen of the United States, residing at Utica, in the county of Oneida, State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Tmprovenients in Needle Clamps for Sewing lllachines, of which the following is a description, reference being had to the accompanying drawing and to the figures of reference marked thereon.

The invention relates to new and useful improvements in needle clamps for sewing machines, and more particularly a needle clamp for a multiple needle sewing machine.

an object of the invention is to provide a needle clamp adapted to support a plurality of needles wherein said needles may be placed very close together and independently clamped, so that any one needle may be removed and replaced without disturbing the setting or clamping of the others.

In the drawings Figure l is a front view of a needle clamp embodying my improvements;

, Figure 2 is a side view of the same;

Figure 3 is a sectional view on the line A-A of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a sectional view on the line B-B of Figure 1;

Figure 5 is a sectional view on the line CC of Figure 1;

Figure 6 is a perspective view of the needle clamp, showing the two parts thereof separated;

Figure 7 is a vertical sectional view through the socket for the right hand needle, as viewed in Figure 1;

liigure 8 is a similar view, but through the central needle socket.

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a needle clamp for a multiple needle machine, wherein a pluralityof needles may be supported very close together and clamped by independent means, so that any one needle may be removed without in any way disturbing the other needles.

The preferred form of my invention con sists of a sleeve 1, which has a socket adapted to receive the lower end of the needle bar 2, which sleeve is secured to the needle bar by means of a set'screw 3. This sleeve has a downwardly projecting supporting head 4:, formed integral therewith, and associated with this supporting head and forming part thereof, is a plate 5. The plate 5 is adapted to be secured to the other part of the supporting head by means of screws 6-43. When the two parts are secured together there is a socket 7 formed. between the parts adapted to receive the needles.

In the present embodiment; of the invention, the needle clamp is shaped to hold three needles, indicated at 8, 9 and 10. The plate 5 is provided with projecting ribs 11 and 12, which are shaped so as to form curved semis. cylindrical seats 13, 14 and 15, which are adapted to receive, respectively, the needles 8, 9 and 10. The supporting part 4 is provided with threaded openings 16 adapted to receive, respectively, the set screws 17, 1S and 19. These set screws are so disposed that each clamps a needle againstits seat in the wall of the socket. It will thus be seen that the needles are independently clamped to the needle supporting head. The needles are also properly spaced by the projecting ribs forming the seats for the shanks for the needles. The needles also may be placed very close together and only separated by the thickness of the projecting ribs 11 and 12.

As a. further means for properly positioning theplate 5, relative to the part 4, I have provided a dowel pin 20, which is adapted to extend into a socket 21, indicated in dotted lines in Figure 6 andv in full lines in Figure 5.

Secured to the sleeve carrying the needle clamping head proper is a cross plate 22, and associated with this cross plate is a metal strip 23. The cross plate is secured to the sleeve 1 by means of a screw 24;. Said screw is formed with an enlarged section on which is placed a spring This spring bears against the head of the screw 24: and against the strip 23 and yieldingly forces the said strip against the cross plate 22. The threads led to the needles are passed in rear ofthis strip 23 and the strip yiel dingly bearing against the threads serves as a means for placing a slight tension on the threads.

The needles 8, 9 and 10 are preferably located abreast. The seats 13, 1 1 and 15 are milled and thus a very much greater accuracy as to placing and forming the seats, may behad than can be accomplished by drilling. Thus the needles may be placed in absolute parallelism. This is essential particularly in a machine where a single threaded looper cooperates with all the needles and Where a cross thread laying mechanism is used in conjunction with the needles. The front portion of the supporting head 4 is provided with a slot 26. This slot is placed to the left of the center line of the head, as clearly shown in Figure 1 of the drawin The threads leading to the eyes of the needles, after passing under the metalstrip 23, pass through the slot 26, the slot holds the threads close to the needles, so that a spreader used in connection with a cross thread laying mechanism can pass along in front of the needles without catching the needle threads. Then again, the slot holds the thread of the right-hand needle slightly to the left, as viewed in Figure 1, and this further prevents the point of the spreader from catching the thread of the right-hand needle.

From the above, it will be apparent that I have provided a needle clamp which is very simple; of few parts, wherein the needles may be placed very close together, and each is independently and firmly clamped to the head, so that any one needle may be removed without disturbing the posi tion of the others.

It is obvious that minor changes in the details of construction and arrangement of parts may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention, as set forth in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what- I claim as new and desire to secure by Let ters Patent, is:

1. A multiple needle clamp for sewing machines comprising a supporting head adapted to be attached to a needle bar, said supporting head having a socket therein, one wall of which is formed with closely arranged vertically extending seats for the re spective needles, and separate clamping means for each needle.

2. A multiple needle clamp for sewing machines colnprising a sleeve having a needle supporting head carried thereby and projecting downwardly therefrom, said head being formed of two members, clamping screws for securing the members together, said needle supporting head having a socket between said members, the wall of the socket of one of said members having spaced seats formed therein for the respective needles, a clamping screw for each needle carried by the other member, whereby said needles are independently clamped to said head.

3. A multiple needle clamp for sewing machines comprising a supporting head adapted to be attached to a needle bar, said supporting head having a socket therein, one wall of which is formed with closely arranged seats for the respective needles, separate clamping means for each needle, a cross plate carried by said needle clamping head, and a strip yieldingly pressed against the said cross plate beneath which the threads are led to the needles.

4:. A multiple needle clamp comprising a sleeve adapted to receive the lower end of the needle bar, a set screw for securing the sleeve to the needle bar, a downwardly projecting member integral with said sleeve, a plate adapted to be attached to said member and forming therewith a needle clamping head, said head having a socket between said plates, projecting ribs carried by one of said plates and projecting into said socket and forming closely arranged semi-cylindrical seats for the respective needles, and set screws carried by the other member for the supporting head and adapted to engage the respective needles for independently clamping the needles in the needle supporting head.

5. A multiple needle clamp comprising a supporting head adapted to be attached to a needle bar, said supporting head having a socket therein, one wall of which is formed with closely arranged seats for the respective needles, and separate clamping means for each needle, said head having an elongated slot therethrough through which the threads passing to the needles may be led.

6. A multiple needle clamp com n'ising a supporting head adapted to be attached to a needle bar, said supporting head having a soz-ket'therein, one wall of which is formed with closely arranged seats for the respective needles, and separate clamping means for each needle, said head having an elongated slot therethreugh through which the threads passing to the needle may be led, the center of said slot being located at one side of the center of the supporting head.

7. A multiple needle clamp for sewing machines comprising a supporting head adapted to be attached to a needle bar, said supporting head having means for supporting a plurality of needles arranged in the same vertical plane, said head having a slot formed therein through which the needle threads may be led to the eyes of the needles, whereby said head operates to hold the threads close to the shanks of the needles, the center of said slot being disposed at the left of the center of the supporting head as viewed from the front of the machine for holding the thread of the right-hand needle where the same passes through said slot slightly to the left of said needle.

In testimony whereof, I afii'X my signature.

JOSEPH Brianna.

lOO 

